hijacking the religion section at my local library.

Lady_Alison

I went a little crazy today at the library. I didn't want to spend Starbucks money on books so I borrowed the instead and now I don't know where to begin.

Many of you know that I joined NB last month after listening to eckhart tolle audio books. Well he was a good catalyst. I also want to immerse myself in Buddhism, like I did when I spent three years reading the Torah, Bible, Gnostic Gospels, history and archeology.

This is the list. I was wondering if any of you have read any and if you want to give them a 1 to 5 being the best rating. Also which should I read first. Thank you in advance:

1. Be grateful to everyone, Pema chodron audio.

2. HHDL the path to tranquility, daily wisdom

3. Thich Nhat Hanh, you are here

4. Thich Nhat Hanh, the art of power

5. Pema chodron, the places that scare you

6. HHDL Stages of meditation

7. Youngey mingyur rinpoche, the joy of living.

person

I've only read the last one but all the authors are among the best.

CaliGuy819

Allison, I suggust starting off simply.
The following link contains all types of booklets on various subjects which are quite engaging and full of endless wisdom:

http://www.blia.org/english/publications/booklet/booklet.htm

Lady_Alison

Thank you @CALIGUY819 That was helpful...

person

Another thought. HHDL is really bright and informative but I also find his stuff really dense so its helpful to have some previous knowledge of Buddhist when reading him.

weighted

All great minds to learn from. I've read some; this reminds me I should read the ones I haven't.

nanimo

Haven't read any of those but I have read others by Thich Nhat Hanh and HHDL. I know their's is good. The rest are names that I have heard frequently so I would say you have a group of "heavy hitters" on your hands( possible 5's across the board).

Though as Person said, the info is dense so you might want to think about getting a refresher online at someplace like buddhanet.net or what have you before you plow into it. The two I know of can have a lot of subtlety that you might miss if you aren't aware of the underlying reasoning.

nanimo

RichardH

Hi Lady_Alison....

Theravada.... Ajahn Sumedho ...available freely online and elsewhere. Perfect.

Zen..... Charlotte Joko Beck (recently died)... She was a great old woman of Zen. Her book.. 'Nothing Special" is direct and to the point, and relevant for new people and not so new. It isn't free.. but is an inexpensive paperback and well worth it.

IMHO.... ofcourse

Seeking_peace

To ease your decision, your #2 book is more of a read a page a day type book "thought for the day".

"The art of happiness" by HHDL and Howard C. Cutler is a book I think everyone should read. It was an easy read and truly made a turning point in my life. I smile and feel warmth and love when I think of it.

Lady_Alison

@seeking_peace oh yea, I saw that one...next time! Actually I got an extension on my books since I went a little nuts. Librarian was nice and gave me six weeks. I didn't know you could do that...if I'd known that I wouldn't have returned date's divine comedy while I was still in purgatory.

That sounded weird...I'm tired. I started with ' you are here.'

Jayjay

I've read a lot of Thich Nhat Hahn and he is a huge inspiration to me. He is truly an amazing person and a phenomenal writer. I highly suggest you read his books and some others by him if you can get a hold of him.

ThailandTom

Woah lol, good slection though. I hope that they manage to give you another few stepping stones on that path of yours. On a side-note, what did I warn you about hijacking threads? That is where it starts, and now you are hijacking libraries!!!